A Farewell to Yarns

about it. But we don’t dare. It would scare her to death that we’d shoot off our mouths to other people. She doesn’t know us well enough to trust us.“
    “I don’t know how I’ll look at him again without gawking or accidentally calling him Richie.“
    “You’ll manage, Shelley, and so will I. We have to. In a way, we have his life in our hands. And we have to start tomorrow.“
    “The bazaar! I’d actually forgotten about it for a few blissful minutes. Have you finished the afghan?“
    “Yes, come look.”
    When they went into the living room, Mike turned off the television and got off the sofa so Jane could spread out her work of art. After Shelley gushed for a moment, he said, “Mrs. Nowack, could I talk to you a minute? In the kitchen?”
    Jane made a point of getting busy helping Todd pick up all the pieces of his project. Mike was undoubtedly asking Shelley about sizes for her. In the past, the kids had always consulted with Steve about shopping for her. Amazing how long a time it took to sort everything into new niches when one member of the family was gone. “Here I come!“ she said as she headed back to the kitchen.
    Mike, grinning, told them both good night and disappeared. “Shelley, do you want to take some of this cake home? I made a double recipe.“
    “I’d better. I need some reason to explain to Paul why I went tearing off in my nightgown. Other than the real one.“
    “Now, remember, we can’t tell anybody in the world about Richie Divine.“
    “I promise,“ Shelley said.
    Jane wondered if she could keep the promise herself.
     

Twenty-four
     
    On Monday morning, the bazaar began well. It had been a risk, having it so late in the year. Most craft sales took place in September or October, when people started thinking about Christmas shopping. The church committee had decided to catch people at the end of their shopping, when they had only a few gifts left to buy and were desperate to complete their lists. When Jane pulled into Fiona’s driveway at eight-thirty, there were already a few cars parked on the street with women waiting for the bazaar to open at nine-thirty. It looked like the marketing ploy might just work. Fortunately, it promised to be an extraordinarily balmy day. That would help a lot.
    Jane and Shelley doled out the signs to the group who had volunteered to post them. They went around to the various rooms making sure all the items were properly marked. Jane was to take the first shift in what they’d dubbed the “Wreath Room“ because that’s where most of those items had ended up. It was astonishing the things people made wreaths of; grapevines were the most popular, next to real or plasticpine boughs. But there were also wreaths made from pinecones, dozens of tiny foil-wrapped packages, and even one kitchen monstrosity made of pastel sponges tied in bow shapes and interspersed with dried flowers and miniature kitchen utensils.
    Jane wouldn’t have to actually sell anything. All sales took place at the long table by the front door where three women already waited. Everyone else did nothing more than stand around looking friendly and watching for shoplifters.
    “It’s amazing the things people will try to walk off with,“ Shelley said. “Last year I caught a woman stuffing a jar of potpourri into her coat pocket. It bulged like a horrible growth. I can’t imagine she thought I wouldn’t notice.“
    “It’s astonishing to think people would take Christmas things from a church,“ Jane said. “What do you say to somebody who’s stealing?“
    “I just said, ‘Let me take that to the front desk for you, and you can pay for it when you leave.’ It worked; she hauled it out, slammed it down on the table, and stomped out as if I’d insulted her. I don’t know what I’d have done if she’d denied it. What you have to look out for are the ones who come in pairs. One of them will engage you in a deep discussion about some item and stand so that you can’t see what the other one is doing. That’s why you need to be on your feet most of the time. So you can dodge around and keep an eye on everybody.“
    “I feel like a prison guard.“
    “Don’t worry. There aren’t that many who come to lift stuff. Mostly it’s fun to stand around and gab with people. I guess it’s time to open up.
    There was a substantial line formed when they let people in. Some of the first were the barracudas—those canny shoppers, antique dealers among them, who